Toledo senior Stacie Spahr scores two points in the suit against Napavine on May 31.
Eric Trent
NAPAVINE – It worked from the outside for the Toledo girls’ basketball team in a 56-48 win over Napavine on Monday.
The hosting Tigers came with two main focuses on defense: devastate the entire field with a press and limit Stacie Spahr’s gaze.
After two quarters, Toledo had passed both tests and went into the break six points ahead of the team battling for second place in the Central 2B League.
The guests were hardly irritated by the pressure, and while they weren’t getting the ball across the court fast enough to turn the game into a lane game, they took care of the ball as best they could.
“I’m delighted that we’re not going to remove them from the press,” said Toledo coach Brian Layton. “We were able to serve the press for the most part.”
When the ball came over the half-field, the Tigers Spahr closed on the post and kept it in the first half to only four points. But that opened up spaces around, and Toledo’s wings took advantage of this.
Emma Cline-Maier collected 10 points in the first half alone and ended the game with 12 points. Marina Smith had an even better night offensively, putting down four 3-pointers to round out her night with 18 points and adding six assists.
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